Volume 7 – Chapter 2 – Part 3 – Team Golden Rakshasa vs Team Lightning

Third Person Point of View

— ○ ● ○ —

"Tch…I'm telling you, that Daniel-boy is working for the Middleman!" shouted Satanael. He, along with several other leaders of the factions of the Khaos Order were in a certain hall watching the match between [Team Golden Rakshasa] and [Team Lightning].

"There has not been a single notion that shows that Daniel is working for the Middleman. We have not found any acts of betrayal from him so far. Why are you so paranoid and sure that he is?" asked Lucifer as he looked at Satanael in annoyance.

"It's a gut feeling, Lucifer-dono, my gut is telling me that he's like some kind of double agent," replied Satanael.

"Each faction within our organization has spied on him since he became leader after the fall of the previous one—Ignia. He has not done any action to warrant your suspicion," added Promestein. "But if you wish, go ahead and monitor him. I am confident that he already knew of our attempts at surveying him."

Satanael shook his head and left the room. Even as the one who truly started the 'Khaos Brigade' along with the Wizards of Oz, and sought after Ophis—the Ouroboros Dragon, they still don't take him seriously at times. His intelligence is sometimes considered below Promestein's and he detests it.

'I'll prove that Daniel is working alongside that annoying dragon…and when I do, I'll prove them all wrong,' he thought as he arrived at his research facility.

"Hmm~? What's wrong, Satanael?"

Satanael looked towards the voice and found Ayumu Doumon there with a smirk on his face. The man sighed after seeing the young man there.

"Oh, Ayumu. It's nothing, I'm going to be spying on Daniel to prove he's working with the Middleman. My gut feeling is telling me he is, and it's never lied to me before—even back then—back five years ago," he muttered and began moving around the room.

Ayumu jumped off the table he was sitting on and walked over to Satanael. "You're really obsessed with him working with the Middleman, huh? The leader is pretty mysterious too—he only ever gave one speech, didn't he? And he just lets us do whatever we want. I like that though."

He summoned his toy-like Artificial Sacred Gear and spun it around his finger. "Well, I don't care who or what he really is, as long as I have a shot at going wild, I don't care. Also, aren't you just doing all this to be acknowledged above Promestein?"

Satanael turned around and coldly glared at Ayumu. "There are things you're not meant to bring up, you brat," he told him before turning around.

"Ooohh~ scary, scary~ I won't bring it up again, Satanael~" chortled Ayumu. "Anyway, I'm going off to a few other countries to keep on testing this baby out. Can I borrow some of those hybrids to take with me? I doubt you'd let me take your prized Abyss Team."

"Take the failures and rejects, the Abyss Team is off limits," replied the fallen angel without turning around.

"Yeah, yeah~ see ya' round~" Ayumu waved his hand while walking away. Meanwhile, Satanael was mumbling to himself—he slowly lost his mind and it was part of Aaron's plan.

The seed of doubt was planted after he evolved, and he would slowly drive the man insane.

— ○ ● ○ —

In the universe of the Evie Etoulde, Kei looked to her side as if sensing something. Yanuyo spotted this and also checked on a certain universe before he chuckled to himself.

"It seems the Rating Game World Tournament is in full swing, fufu. Unfortunately, we won't get to go witness those matches on time—unless…" Yanuyo looked up at the sky of the planet they were on and smirked. "Kuku, unless Aaron-sama has a different plan for how the tournament will turn out~?"

Kei sliced apart another mechanical being with her sword and said, "If Boss has his plans, then we should just leave it to him and not deviate from them."

"Kuku, I never said we should, but it wouldn't hurt to try to make his experience here a little more interesting, no? We did take those two Shepherds down not too long ago. They were quite weak though," said Yanuyo.

Yanuyo raised his arm up and the area there were on was covered in a field of large and sharp bones that protruded from the ground, on them, pierced like a skewer were numerous mechanical beings that were inhabitants of this planet.

This planet was another research facility that belonged to the Evie Gods, all three of them had come here to destroy it while also tasked on finding items that Resetoras had asked them to look for.

Those items were considered relics of theirs. They possessed tremendous powers that could help them in fighting the Evie. However, during the initial invasion of the Evie, they were stolen. However, after a certain mission by the Etoulde faction they managed to retrieve it, only to have their own ship blown up—scattering the relics on different planets due to the explosion blast.

"Did you find any?" Kei asked the shadow soldier. The shadow soldier nodded and produced a rock that shimmered with a mysterious power.

"Ho? This is…I see, the 'seed' that they needed in their current base to increase its own defenses. According to [Observe], it's called the [Linaidite]. There used to be an abundant amount before the Evie destroyed most of them and replaced them with their own 'cores' to power a ship or planet," explained Yanuyo.

"[Linaidite]…isn't this just its raw state? If we could refine it and harness its power, then it could probably become something even more powerful. Should we send this back to the Boss before we hand it over to Resetoras?" asked Kei as she examined the rock-like object.

"And here I thought I was the only one with those types of ideas. It would certainly become even more powerful for their use. Very well, I will send it to him," said Yanuyo as he used his transceiver to speak with Aaron.

Kei turned back to the shadow soldier and asked, "Where did you find it?"

The shadow soldier pointed to the north. "It was buried deep underground. I sensed its power, so I dug my way through and found it. There are multiple more rocks like those across this universe, by my estimations, around seventeen."

"Seventeen…then let's go get all of them before the Evie try to get their hands on them, though that seems unlikely since they replaced them with their own cores, but I think it'll be more beneficial for the Etoulde in the long run," said Kei.

The shadow soldier nodded and created a small map made of shadows—it was a map of the universe and at numerous points were purple lights that shone.

"These are the planets where said rocks are at. I sense life signatures on them. Some are hostile while some are neutral. We will need to battle in some of them, Kei-sama," said the shadow soldier.

Kei looked at the map and saw that they were quite far apart. "Can we get to them by just teleporting?"

"Yes."

"Then we'll do that," she said and looked at Yanuyo who had finished speaking to Aaron and the [Linaidite] he had was gone. "Let's go to the closet one and go from there."

"Very well, Aaron-sama said he'd give it back to us once he's done with it. He sounded interested in it, he may even produce more of them, kuku. How about we send the rest to him and see how that turns out~?" Yanuyo said with a smirk on his face.

"I would label you as chaotic good or chaotic neutral," said Kei.

"Thank you for the compliment~"

Kei shook her head before teleporting all of them to a different planet.

— ○ ● ○ —

In the universe of the Crepuscule Phantasma, in a certain planet that they Resistance were stationed in, a woman had just arrived after a long mission she had been sent on. She entered their base with numerous people welcoming her back.

"Greetings, Savina, I'm back," said the woman.

Savina, one of the leaders of the Resistance turned around and saw her friend and smiled.

"It's been a while, Isatha. I take it that your mission was a success?" asked Savina.

Isatha was a woman with a slender yet toned body. She stood at 5'8" with long and straight black hair. She had wine-red eyes with a scar running down her left eye, she had a cross-shaped earring on her right ear and wore a mainly black with red-wine accent military attire. She wore a large black coat behind her back and had tattoos on her left arm. On her hip was a book.

"Yes, of course…by the way where is Cao Cao and his team?" she asked while looking around the base.

Savina smirked and asked, "Oh? Are you already missing your lover?"

In response to this, Isatha's cheeks turned red. "I was simply asking about his whereabouts," she replied and glared at Savina.

The leader laughed at her reaction and said, "He and his team have departed. A different person—an avatar of the outer god came and told them to go back to their universe. However, rest assured that Laeronia said that they would eventually come back along with the rest of Team [DxD]."

Upon hearing this Isatha became a little disheartened. However, the current Isatha was very different from when Cao Cao and his team met her. She was on guard with everyone with the exceptions of the leaders of the Resistance (Savina, Echilys and Ramlar) and Sekudia.

Her life before the Resistance was a difficult one and she held no trust in anyone. However, with the help of Cao Cao, his team and the leaders, she began opening up. It took a long time to get to that point, but in the end, Isatha began to harbor romantic feelings for the spear-wielding young man from another universe.

Cao Cao himself was oblivious until Leonardo of all people told him of Isatha's feelings for him and he began to notice the things she did. In turn, Cao Cao himself found a strange feeling bubbling inside of himself.

"I…see…well, at least they will come back, and until that day comes, I will continue with my own work. Where is this 'Laeronia' person currently at?" she asked.

"Over at the Twin Peaks, he likes sitting there and looking out into the sky," replied Savina.

Isatha was confused but also became curious. She heard many stories concerning outer gods, but had never interacted with one before. As such she saw this as a perfect opportunity to converse with one, even if she was only speaking to its avatar.

"I will go introduce myself then," she told her leader before bowing and leaving.

Savina stood there and smiled. "Just a few months ago, something like this would be impossible…perhaps joining hands with that universe was a good plan after all."

Savina heard many things about the outer gods through Phumera…as she used to be close to her before they went their separate ways. While Phumera idealized the outer god Magnum Tenebrosum, Savina feared him for everything that he had done. She tried to reason with Phumera but got nowhere as she had become a fanatic at that point along with her current right-hand, Yve.

If possible, Savina would like Phumera to revert back to her old self, but she also knew that it might be too late for it, and as such she would like to be the one to end Phumera's life. She believed that it would be better to have her former friend's life end by her own hands and would ask Aaron in the future if it was possible.

'Change…through the power of Cao Cao, he and his comrades, they managed to change Isatha. I heard many tales from them about the outer god of their universe—that man has changed their world and the people in it…but with the way they told their stories, it seems he himself isn't aware of that power of his. The power to change people's hearts.'

Savina believed that it was that the outer god's most powerful ability. To change former enemies to his side, influence the opinions of others through his simple actions and heroisms—but at the same time, not seeing himself as a hero, but just someone selfishly doing things he wanted.

A smile adorned her face. "I'd like to meet you soon, outer god—no, Jin Skyward. You sound like an interesting person."

— ○ ● ○ —

At the peak of Twin Peaks sat Laeronia. When he didn't have a job to do, he would come here to look at the scenery of this world. After he sent back Cao Cao's team, the planet they currently used as a base became completely untraceable by anyone except Aaron or the ones that knew where it was.

To outsiders, there was nothing here, there was no planet, there were no signs or signatures of life. Not Phumera, Yve, the Eradicators, or even an outer god could find this place. As long as Aaron willed it, it would never be discovered. The only way for one to know that this planet and its inhabitants existed was if they were given permission by Aaron himself to know it existed.

"Are you Laeronia?"

Laeronia glanced behind him and saw a woman with black hair. "I am. You're…Isatha, right? Cao Cao's lover? No…you harbor feelings for him though," said Laeronia making Isatha blush.

Isatha didn't know how to respond to that. She had only met him just now and yet he already knew of her feelings towards Cao Cao.

'Did he tell him…? No, from what Savina told me they didn't interact that much and he only came to retrieve them before sending them back to their universe…' thought Isatha. She shook her head and stood beside Laeronia and looked out at the sky in front of them.

"If you're here to ask about Cao Cao then he's participating in our world's Rating Game World Tournament," said Laeronia. He then explained what it was and the grand prize at the end. "Perhaps he will ask for this universe to become peaceful so you two can be together?"

Upon hearing that, Isatha turned her head away and blushed. She had found herself blushing more and more often because of Cao Cao and she was unsure on how to feel about it all. She liked the feeling she felt, but at the same time it gave her a bit of uncertainty and anxiety. It was an unknown path—a path she hadn't been down before and it gave her a lot of worries.

"Though that's just speculation for now…" Laeronia lied. Out of the avatars he freely used the abilities they had access to. While most only used a certain set that suited them as 'individual people', he practically acted like another Aaron.

He frequently looked into the future, used his [Reality Manipulation] to a certain degree, but he generally followed his creators' orders. The universe that he was in, it was a very cruel one, but the future he saw his master create was a much better one than the one he had envisioned.

"How long until they come here?" Isatha asked.

"In a few months, and by then, and by orders of my master, only half of the current power of the Phantasma will remain. I will slowly and methodically erase them," he told her, surprising her. "The ones in the Evie Etoulde universe will also have the same thing done to them. My master will come to both universes guns blazing."

"…You have such a strange way of speaking, but I will take your word for it," replied Isatha. However, she soon noticed a change in mood. "U-Um…is there something wrong?"

She noticed that Laeronia's face had become quite serious and stiff. "Eradicator, Rank 16, Elanor. My master will hate her, just like how he hates certain people in his life so far."

Isatha became confused but listened to the young man.

"Do you know about her first planet she conquered before becoming an Eradicator? The first planet she used to build up her own army and group? Do you know what it's called?" asked Laeronia.

"…Of course. Who wouldn't know? It's quite infamous, a planet that even the strongest of warriors cannot conquer—a planet full of vengeful spirits of dead doll-like children…anyone who steps foot there will be burned by flames so powerful that even your soul will be scorched."

"My master hates seeing innocent people suffer—especially children. Once he finds it, I can only imagine how he'll feel about Elanor as a whole," said Laeronia. He then got up and sighed. "Let's work together to liberate this universe before my master comes here. If Cao Cao trusts you then I have no reasons not to."

Laeronia put his hand forward and Isatha shook it. "Let's get along then, Laeronia."

"Likewise."

— ○ ● ○ —

Powerful shockwaves were produced at various points on the Rating Game Field where [Team Golden Rakshasa] and [Team Lightning] were facing off at. The [Queen] of [Team Lightning], Kishku and [Rook] of [Team Golden Rakshasa] were fighting in a wooded area. Their fists blew away the surrounding trees around them.

"Are you sure the [Queen] should be facing the [Rook] right now, Kishku?" asked Akaza.

"All [Electa] are equal to [Kings] or [Queens] in the Rating Games. Whether I face you, Aurelia-san or Edel-san wouldn't matter—the rest will need to fight each other to grow stronger," said Kishku.

Akaza smiled. "Are you saying we're just bidding time then?"

"If you see it as such," replied Kishku. They sent powerful shockwaves at each other and they collided, further destroying their surroundings around them.

Only a few minutes had passed since the initial start of the game and Aurelia's 'greeting'. However, not a single team had destroyed an [object] yet, so the points were tied so far.

[[Team Lightning] has destroyed an [object]. They have gained one point.]

"Hmm. It seems my team has gained the lead, Akaza-san. I wonder who will win in this game?" asked Kishku as Akaza grinned.

"Well, time will only tell, won't it?" said Akaza as their fists connected again, producing another powerful shockwave.

— ○ ● ○ —

[They've taken a point, but do not panic, we will take a point back,] said Ravel through the transceiver.

[This is Kuroka nya~ I found an [object] nya, it's around thirty centimeters in size nya~]

[Understood, please see if it's moveable before destroying it,] replied Ravel.

[It can be moved nya, what do you want me to do nya?]

[Since it can be moved, we'll need to change our strategy for this game. We won't destroy it, but we'll keep it as a weapon of our side.]

[We'll move it first, and then destroy it in a location that will be favorable to us,] said Aurelia.

[Indeed. This can be used as a weapon against their [King]. The way these [objects] are used will change the direction of the entire game,] said Ravel.

[If that's the case, would it be safe to assume that our opponent has gotten two or maybe even three [objects] themselves?] asked Ouryuu through the transceivers.

[Unlikely, I have not seen them take any of them so far. However, they are close to some of them and Ravel has sent everyone in the correct directions,] added Aurelia.

She wanted Ravel to lead the team. Aurelia, Akaza and Edel were only there at Aaron's request. Aurelia and Akaza wanted to participate to be able to fight strong opponents so it worked out for them, while Edel did it for Aaron. Since the construction on Aaron's Dimensional Gap base was all but done, she was free to do what she wanted, like Celestin.

[So should I destroy or keep this one nya?] Kuroka asked again.

[In my opinion, this one should be saved. Finding the second one as soon as possible is the most logical thing. What do you think, Aurelia-sama?] asked Ravel.

[Umu. Keep it, however, I would like to leave the decisions to you, Ravel. So from here on out, please listen to her orders,] ordered Aurelia. She got a resounding 'Yes, ma'am' from everyone.

[Kuroka-sama and Rossweisse-sama, if possible, please meet up so we can begin analyzing it. Rossweisse-sama, I leave everything up to you in that regard!] said Ravel.

[Understood,] both Kuroka and Rossweisse replied in unison.

What Ravel had in mind for the [object] was for Rossweisse to analyze it, and create a technique in locating the rest on the map. Aurelia, Edel and Akaza already knew where the rest were, so did Kishku and Ezeri. However, they themselves have left it up to their other teammates to find and play the game.

[Aurelia-sama, regarding 'that' from our earlier talks…I will contact you when it's relevant.]

[Umu. When the occasion comes, I will use my powers,] replied Aurelia.

[[Team Golden Rakshasa] has destroyed an [object]. They have gained one point.]

Immediately after they destroyed an [object], another announcement was made.

[[Team Lightning] has destroyed an [object]. They have gained one point.]

Aurelia's team had one point while Baraqiel's team had two points so far. It seemed [Team Lightning] was using the fallen angel's experience over the power of [Team Golden Rakshasa]'s raw power to find the [objects] around the map—they did have various researchers in Grigori in their team after all.

[This is Haru, I'm under attack, I'm planning to engage,] Haru said through the transceivers.

Haru had been tasked by Ravel to go east and explore that area, Yoru, her sister was sent to the west to explore that side—currently both sisters were separated from each other.

[Very well. Try to find out why they're there,] replied Ravel.

[Nya nya! Kuroka here, Rose and I are being attacked too!]

— ○ ● ○ —

Aurelia, the [King] of [Team Golden Rakshasa] was also exploring a part of the game field when a flash of lightning suddenly struck the ground in front of her. She grinned and found the [King] of [Team Lightning] in front of her.

"This must be fate, Aurelia," said Baraqiel.

[Wow! A battle between the [Kings] is about to occur! Who would have thought that both [Kings] of the teams would find each other!] the announcer shouted.

[Kick her ass, Baraqiel! Oh wait, I have to not be biased… Kick each other's asses, you guys!] Azazel shouted.

"Fufu, [Lightning of God], a very flashy title indeed. I always wanted to fight you, Baraqiel. You are Aaron-sama's father-in-law after all," said Aurelia as she summoned her greatsword again.

Lightning crackled around Baraqiel's arms as she stared back at Aurelia. "Even if you are his subordinate, I won't go easy on you. As Akeno's father and as a husband, I have to look cool in front of them."

Aurelia grinned even more, but Baraqiel started throwing lightning attacks at her to which she deflected the attacks using her greatsword. The fallen angel then flew towards Aurelia while keeping up his assault and the woman stood there waiting for him while deflecting his attacks.

Before he could arrive in front of her, a large and bright blade of light struck the ground between them, shocking Baraqiel. They both looked up and saw Raynare. She flew down and floated beside Baraqiel.

[What is this?! [Team Lightning]'s [Pawn] suddenly interrupted the match between [Kings]!] the announcer shouted in surprise.

[Yeaaaaaaaaaaaah! Fuck 'em up Raynare! Baraqiel!] shouted Azazel.

"Raynare? I thought you were—" Just as he was about to continue speaking, a powerful surge of lightning and flames erupted in the sky. Large meteor sized balls of flames and lightning coating them crashed all over the field!

[Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh?! Now what?! It seems like a powerful attack was…unleashed by [Team Lightning]'s other [Pawn]!]

"Fufu, we predicted that might happen," said Aurelia. [Everything was found, right, Rossweisse?]

[Yes. After analyzing the [object], I managed to find the rest. Everyone else who were near them managed to cover them in a power barrier, preventing their destruction,] replied the Valkyrie.

"Hmm. It wouldn't be fun if you didn't do something like that, Aurelia-san," said Raynare. "Baraqiel-sama, I want to fight her too, please let me."

"…Alright, let's fight her together," replied Baraqiel.

"Haha! Even better, let's go then!" bellowed Aurelia as her power surged and they were blown back. "Make this entertaining for me!"

"I will be support, Raynare. I don't stand a chance against her. However, since you're stronger than me, I will leave it to you," said Baraqiel and Raynare nodded.

Raynare silently created a sword made of light and prepared herself. Aurelia couldn't wait any longer and dashed towards the two. Baraqiel let forth bursts of lightning toward Aurelia who blew her breath towards them, destroying them. Raynare also flew towards her and their weapons collided!

The skies of the Rating Game field were split, the clouds above them had turned inwards and began flowing backwards into itself.

"Hoho? When did you learn to wield a weapon, Raynare?" Aurelia asked as their blades blew apart their surroundings.

"Lianne-sensei and Aaron taught me!" shouted Raynare as she struggled to match Aurelia's raw power. In the back, Baraqiel did his best to keep up with both women, but he himself felt like an ant trying to aid a god in a god's fight.

'Even though I said that cool and small speech…I'm not really doing anything,' thought Baraqiel as he watched the two ladies in front of him slice reality around them. "…I'll go help the rest of the team," he mumbled and left.

[P-player Baraqiel has just left the area! It seems like he's retreating to help the rest of his team!]

[Well, would you try to jump into that? Those are like two gods fighting each other, if you did, you'd probably end up retiring,] said Azazel which made the announcer awkwardly laugh.

"Fuhahaha! Well then, show me your swordsmanship!" roared Aurelia as she covered her greatsword with a golden aura.

'…That's what she used to kill Trihexa! …I'll take it head-on!' Raynare also increased her aura and dodged the strike that was aimed at her at the last second. Raynare's life flashed before her eyes as the attack passed her. She then followed up by thrusting her light sword at Aurelia who caught it with her hand and smirked at the woman.

"Not bad, not bad at all, but—" A powerful explosion erupted behind Raynare. She glanced back and saw that part of the field was completely missing.

[[Team Golden Rakshasa] has destroyed two [objects]. They have gained two points.]

[2 [Rooks] of [Team Lightning] have retired!]

"Wha—" Raynare hadn't expected two of her teammates to be knocked out already, but regarding the powerful attack Aurelia had used, it only made sense. She did remember those two going to that area to look for [objects] to destroy.

"Fufu, I guess I got lucky," said Aurelia as she pushed Raynare away. The fallen angel looked back at Aurelia after recovering.

'What do I do? I can't match her in power…that best strategy now is…to preoccupy her until the end of the game. I just have to trust the rest can handle themselves. But Edel and Akaza are still here, but they Kishku and Ezeri can deal with them, meaning—'

"If you're relying on the rest of your team to pull through, it's not a bad decision, Raynare. However, do the rest of them have the will and drive to push past their limits and win this game?" asked Aurelia.

Raynare had no answer to that. She wanted to say 'Of course they do!' like a hot-headed youth, but she couldn't. She wasn't sure if they had the same feelings as her, Atsutarou had different reasons for joining, so did the fallen angel researchers, even Sofiel, Ezeri's lover only joined because of him, and the two [Electa] that were with them joined because of Aaron's suggestion.

"I just have to put my trust in them and hope that they pull through," replied Raynare. She summoned millions of light spears around her and aimed them at Aurelia. "That's all I can do…"

"I like it, come, fallen angel!" Aurelia charged towards Raynare as millions of light spears were aimed at her.

— ○ ● ○ —

"Fufu, I can't let you run around too much, Eze-chan~" Edel said while watching from afar. She, along with Yoru were facing Ezeri, the sole [Knight] of [Team Lightning].

"Dammit Edel, stop summoning so many trees, roots, and plants!" shouted Ezeri in frustration.

Yoru appeared in front of Ezeri and slashed her claws at him, to which the [Electa] dodged it quite easily. He sent a punch towards her, but a large branch blocked it and protected Yoru.

"Dammit!! Stoooooooop!!"

In response to Ezeri's anger, Edel giggled to herself, further angering him. Instead of playing her game, Ezeri began to run away, but—a crimson-orange flaming foot appeared in front of him and slammed into his arms as he guarded in time.

"Haru, reporting for duty!" shouted Haru. She was then joined by Yoru. "It's been a little bit since we fought against someone together. Let's see how well we fare against Ezeri-san, Yoru!"

"Mmm!"

Both sisters looked at Ezeri who crashed through several large branches that were made by Edel.

"You have to face them now, Eze-chan. It's an impromptu training session!" declared Edel.

"Haaaaah?! Are you nuts?! Why would I—?!" Ezeri was forced to dodge another kick from Haru, but Yoru appeared underneath him and she aimed for his man bits!

Ezeri countered by sending a powerful kick downward that produced a shockwave, hitting Yoru and slamming her to the ground. He then looked at Haru and gathered touki around his right arm and punched in her direction. This created a small tiger-like shape made of touki.

Haru produced a small barrier but it was quickly destroyed and she attack collided with her, creating a small explosion.

"Ara, that's now nice~" muttered Edel as she saw it all happen. She put a hand on her face and brought another one behind her, blocking Ezeri's kick, surprising her. "I may not look like it, but I do know some martial arts, Eze-chan~"

Ezeri's instincts went on full alert as she backed away before Edel closed her hand on his leg. His entire body had cold sweat and he looked at the usually closed-eyed woman in confusion and shock.

'W-what the hell was that? Why did I back away—we're the same damn power level, so why?!' he thought. Edel tilted her head as she slightly opened her eyes to stare at him—a dangerous glow twinkled in them.

"We're not done, dammit…!" shouted Haru as she came back. Her clothes were ripped in several parts. Beside her was also Yoru who had gotten up.

"We…learned this from the Valkyrie Squad and Rossweisse-san…" muttered Yoru.

A crimson-orange aura covered Haru's body. Besides her, Yoru's body was also covered in a deep blue aura.

Much like [Shadow Drive], [White Drive] and [Walküre Drive], both Haru and Yoru developed their own [Drive] in a short time period. Both of their powers increased significantly and they faced Ezeri again.

"We didn't get time to name these, but who cares about that right now?" said Haru as she changed into a stance.

"…Please play with us a little longer, Ezeri-san," said Yoru also taking a stance.

"Fufu, will you answer their request~?" asked Edel.

Ezeri sighed while cracking his neck. He wasn't expecting to be forced to train people during a game, but he didn't know the strange power that Edel showed him just then. He was confident in his power and fighting ability, but something primal screamed at him to avoid fighting Edel or it would end in his defeat, even if they were supposed to be equals in terms of raw power.

Ezeri entered into a stance himself and covered his body with touki. "Fine, I expect both of you to learn quickly, otherwise I'm beating your sorry asses!"

"Yes sir!" both dragon sisters shouted. As they rushed towards him, they threw punches and kicks at Ezeri, who dodged and redirected them, causing them to miss him in the process.

Both Yoru and Haru became stronger as they were classified by Aaron as weak Satan-class, but they still lacked experience in real battles and were still deemed weak by him and a few others, not including their other weaknesses. So these two began to rebuild themselves up from the ground-up. From the basics all the way to what they currently knew, they wanted to surpass their older and weaker selves.

'…They're getting faster and sharper with each punch and kick they send to me…they're a lot faster at learning than I thought.' Ezeri grinned at the thought and disappeared from their sight and created clones of himself.

He then sent shockwave punches towards the two who managed to avoid most of them, but were hit by some. They both felt pain, but ignored it and kept fighting. Impressive by this, Ezeri decided to attack them too.

Each punch he threw at them could knock them out. However, he decreased his speed just enough so they could keep up with it and avoid it. But he grazed them at times and spurts of blood left those grazed spots.

'Even our [Drive] can't let us fight Ezeri-san at all…though he is in that new rank that Leader-san made,' thought Haru.

"What's wrong? Is this your limit?" asked Ezeri as he kept up his assault. Both girls were desperately trying to avoid them.

"No!" both girls shouted back at him.

Their powers suddenly increased and Haru grazed his cheek, surprising him further. A large smirk spread across his face and he began fighting back too. To Ezeri, these two dragon girls were growing stronger as they fought him and he felt his own fighting spirit increase in excitement. He quickly knocked them away and stood still.

"You two are great…haha, I can't wait to see how far you can go in just a year!" Ezeri shouted as his aura exploded. A large dense white aura that resembled a tiger appeared around him. "Alright, ladies, let's start the real match then!"

"Bring it!" shouted Haru as she increased her [Drive] output even more. Yoru followed suit and the two sisters dashed back to Ezeri.

— ○ ● ○ —

"Haaa…look at you guys, you're both clearly more experienced than me in fighting, but the fact that you can't fight as a team will mean your downfall, you know that?" asked Atsutarou.

He was fighting both [Pawns] of [Team Golden Rakshasa]. These were Ouryuu (Ryuuta) Nakiri and Bova Tannin. Individually, these two are strong on their own, but when they fight together, they can't get on the same wavelength and more times than not, they end up getting in each other's way and sabotaging each other accidentally.

Ouryuu and Bova glanced at each other before distancing themselves from each other. They both had the same goal of becoming a 'part' of Aaron's group. Ouryuu being his future 'fist' and Bova being his future 'fang'. They're both trying hard to impress him and have him acknowledge them as such. However…

"We will review our teamwork after this Rating Game, but for now our only goal is to defeat you," said Bova as he powered up again.

"I agree. Our teamwork may not be the best, but the only concern is beating you, Atsutarou-san," said Ouryuu as he entered his [Dragon Man] form.

"Heh, can't be helped then. I also don't plan on losing since I wanna repay Grigori and Jin after all," he said and covered his body in flames. His hands also glowed red and blue.

Bova rushed towards Atsutarou first and he sent a punch towards his abdomen, but Atsutarou avoided it easily by jumping up. To his surprise, Ouryuu appeared above him and had joined both his hands together and slammed them down towards him. He also saw Bova firing a breath attack at him from below.

Atsutarou used his blue ring to quickly pull Ouryuu towards him and dodged the flames that Bova fired at him by using his red ring. However, he quickly appeared behind Ouryuu using his 'repel' and slammed his foot onto his back while also spreading his 'repel' into his foot, increasing the speed at which Ouryuu slammed into Bova.

His attack didn't stop there as he 'attracted' the flames that Bova fired back towards himself and aimed it at the two of them and increased the speed using his 'repel'. Bova quickly pushed both himself and Ouryuu out of the way, avoiding the attack.

"To use my flames against me…sly little…" muttered Bova.

'He has a lot more mastery over his Artificial Sacred Gear. He must have gotten help from Grigori. I heard from Jin-san that he also was experimented on just like Saji-senpai, and also had his 'Himejima blood' inside him awakened by Jin-san. He's more formidable now as an opponent, unlike back during Halloween since he has a cool head,' thought Ouryuu.

"Bova…come here," said Ouryuu. The dragon looked at him for a second before quickly going towards him. He listened to what Ouryuu had planned and agreed.

"If we win, I don't care!" replied Bova.

[[Team Lightning] has destroyed an [object]. They have gained one point.]

[Both teams now have three points each, meaning they're tied again! Who will first gain the seven points?! Or will one of the [Kings] retire before that comes?!] shouted the announcer.

The sudden announcement surprised them both, but they decided to continue on their objective. Bova flew towards Atsutarou who floated in the sky with his wings of flames. The two began a small fist fight in the air with Bova coming out on top. However, he could still defend himself to a fine degree.

"You're not bad at close quarters combat then!" said Bova.

"Well, I was forced to learn this back in the clan before I left, and in my own travels and the Khaos Order I was forced to improve them," replied Atsutarou.

Bova grinned and backed away before throwing small rocks at Atsutarou, confusing him. He swiped them away before giving Bova a confused look, but the dragon flew back towards him and began another fist fight with him.

On the ground, Ouryuu controlled the rocks that were thrown. He also influenced the ground beneath Bova and Atsutarou as they fought. Originally, he couldn't do this, but since he wanted to increase his battle prowess, he asked Aaron for more control over his earth manipulation, hence why he could control rocks that were tossed into the air.

Bova waited for the signal from Ouryuu until he saw it and charged Atsutarou who blocked his stomach, Bova had done a reckless headbutt into him, but the dragon grinned as Atsutarou was blown back towards a floating rock.

Ouryuu opened his right hand that was stretched upwards, and the small rock expanded, and once Atsutarou hit it, he changed it so it would cover all of Atsutarou's body, entrapping him in it. He then increased the aura around the rock and when Atsutarou fell to the ground while entrapped on the rock, Ouryuu added more onto it and reinforced them with his aura.

[Oh? A smart strategy from both [Pawns] of [Team Golden Rakshasa], they use their numbers and still shitty teamwork to pull it off. They're quick thinkers,] said Azazel. He then chuckled, [But it's not enough.]

"Nice try, but like the Governor said…it's not enough," said Atsutarou as his flames' heat increased to ridiculous amounts and melted everything around them. This included the rocks reinforced by Ouryuu and the ground beneath him.

"If I didn't have that 'block' in my body when I was born—according to Jin I could have inherited the [Zhuque] from the Himejima clan! But I don't care since I can make my own flames this intense!" he shouted and a large shape of a bird appeared above him—it was made of his flames.

"Let's keep going! Balance Adjust!" Atsutarou shouted, and his entire body was surrounded by the two rings, and his flames. The two rings expanded greatly and formed circles around his body, so did the flames and everything around them was being repelled and attracted around the flaming ball.

Once his transformation ended, Atsutarou was covered in a flame-like armor while his body was covered in circles of red and blue, especially at his joints.

"Counter Balance: Gravitational Vortex Bird. It's a mouthful, but that's the best I got," said Atsutarou with a grin. He spread his arms and everything around them began flying towards Atsutarou, trees, rocks, the ground itself—everything was being attracted to him.

Ouryuu manipulated the ground to anchor himself and Bova to it. But Atsutarou foresaw this fired powerful flames towards them, Bova fired his own flames at them, forcing both to collided and Ouryuu raised the ground in front of them to block the flames from hitting them.

"We need to retreat and think of another plan. Atsutarou-san is a lot stronger than we thought, Bova Tannin," said Ouryuu. Bova wanted to say no and just fight it out, but he knew that he needed to use his head right now and agreed.

Both of them ran away to think of another strategy. To them, Atsutarou had both the perfect offense and defense by using both his Artificial Sacred Gear and flame manipulation. By using his repel and attract to create the perfect defense and offense and amplifying his offensive capabilities using his flames. The terrain also became their enemy too since he almost had telekinesis and they could be manipulated against them.

But they didn't get far as Atsutarou appeared above them smiling. "Where are you going!? Let's duke it out!" he shouted before pulling both of them towards him and incinerating them with his flames.

Both were burned badly but Tannin who was a little more resistant to the flames turned around and attempted to punch Atsutarou in the stomach, but saw that his fist was stopped inches away from Atsutarou's stomach.

"Wha—?!"

"I'm repelling you. At a certain point, once you reach that vicinity, I can almost create an invisible wall. Pretty neat, huh? Nice try though, dragon." Atsutarou smiled and kicked Bova in the face and sent him crashing to the ground. He then followed it up by launching Ouryuu to the ground using his repulsion.

[Amazing! Atsutarou Himejima with both his Artificial Sacred Gear and flames is unstoppable! Both [Pawns] of [Team Golden Rakshasa] are unable to stop him! How will they stop him?!]

[Well, we did help modify his body to be able to do that—just like what we did with Genshirou Saji, the wielder of the Vritra Sacred Gears. Right now, you need to be at least a True Satan-class or God-class being to stop Atsutarou Himejima,] said Azazel.

— ○ ● ○ —

"Aaron…what Atsutarou said…" Suzaku looked at Aaron and he confirmed it with a nod.

"I saw a future where he wasn't given that handicap and he thrived as the next heir. You gave him the idea of changing everything in the Himejima clan, and with both of you working together as well as being powerful wielders of your clan's flame, you, along with Atsutarou, used a much more forceful method. You hunted down and killed the ones against the changes," he told them.

Suzaku's eyes widened in shock. She had thought of doing such things in the past, but wanted to break the cycle of violence, so she held back on enacting such plans. However, she didn't think Atsutarou Himejima would do it if he became the inheritor of [Zhuque], the Vermillion Bird.

"Atsutarou Himejima is a prodigy at using your clan's flames and now you're seeing it firsthand. I unlocked his blocked Himejima powers, and with the help of Grigori, they made his flames stronger and he could use his Artificial Sacred Gear a lot better…" he added.

"So you're saying you can't see a future where those two win?" asked Suzaku.

"There are several futures where they win, but right now they're going to one where they lose. So unless they find those ways, they will lose this match-up," explained Aaron. He then looked at a little shimmering rock in his hand—the [Linaidite] that Kei and Yanuyo sent him.

'Now what should I do with you…?' he thought and smiled at the rock.

— ○ ● ○ —

"Baraqiel-san, I won't let you near that [object]," said Rossweisse. She had encountered the [King] of [Team Lightning] as she guarded the [object] Kuroka had found.

"Rossweisse, huh? I see, so fighting you must be fate. As [King] I will do my job," he said and sent powerful lightning attacks at Rossweisse.

Rossweisse negated them using her [Mistilteinn Wand] much to Baraqiel's surprise. Baraqiel grimaced and shook his head.

'I didn't want to resort to that since it might backfire on me, but…desperate times call for desperate measures…!' he thought and flew towards the Valkyrie.

"Coming straight for me? That's—"

"Are you engaged to Aaron yet?!" roared Baraqiel, utterly confusing Rossweisse.

"H-how that's rele—"

"Will he even marry you!? What if he has held out because of all the failures you have done throughout his meeting with you and until now?!" he asked harshly.

Rossweisse froze on the spot as memories flooded her head—each little mistake she had done in her entire life so far, especially the ones around Aaron. Uncertainty clouded her heart and her mood plummeted! Baraqiel had used…psychological warfare!!

Baraqiel fired more attacks at Rossweisse who barely dodged them. She tried to fire her own magic, but they were very weak! Her mental health had taken damage and it affected her power!

"Weak! If you let things like this weaken you, how can you stand beside Aaron!?" Baraqiel asked, almost sounding angry.

"I-I…" muttered Rossweisse. Finally, a bolt of lightning finally hit her and she stumbled backwards—the attack did little damage to her, but the psychological damage Baraqiel had inflicted was enough to slow her down!

The fallen angel flew towards Rossweisse after hitting her with another bolt of lightning, with the aim of punching her! As his fist was about to touch her face, a powerful silver aura erupted from her, blowing him backward which made him hit a tree.

Rossweisse's eyes were glowing silver as she stared at Baraqiel with a slightly annoyed expression. "You know as well as I do that Aaron's not that kind of person!" she shouted.

"…It backfired…" muttered Baraqiel. He had angered a sleeping monster—and that monster had just activated [True Ultra Instinct].

This was an emotionally-driven form of [Ultra Instinct] as well as an enhanced version of [Ultra Instinct Sign] unique to Goku, but now Rossweisse had achieved it in the tournament.

'—It's up to you to discover your own unique version of [Ultra Instinct]. Listen to the voice within you. Deep down what are you really?'

Those words echoed in Rossweisse's head. Back when she started learning to use [Ultra Instinct] from Aaron and Cúntóir, Aaron had told her such words. She had to find her own one—the one that Aaron had wasn't his own, but after his 10,000 years of training he also found his own. Now it was up to Rossweisse to find her one unique [Ultra Instinct].

"I ain' listenin' to yer feckin garbage Baraqiel-san! I'll beat ye righ nawh and win!" shouted Rossweisse in her accent!

[The Valkyrie just assumed some strange form and her strange accent came ouuuuuuuuuuuuut!] shouted the announcer.

"Aaaahhh! Who cares! Let's goo!!" Baraqiel bellowed out, at the same time the upper half of his skin-tight suit ripped showing off his six pack and hairy body. Lightning surged around his body as he prepared himself to face an angry Rossweisse.

— ○ ● ○ —

"Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa~ deeeeeeeear~" Shuri screeched as she saw her husband's chest. Everyone felt a bit awkward but chuckled at the scene.

'So you're on the way to finding your own, huh, Rose?' thought Aaron as he looked at the scene with interest.

— ○ ● ○ —

"Not bad nya~ but you gotta try harder than that nya~" Kuroka said as she defended an [object] and avoided attacks from Sofiel, Ezeri's lover and a fallen angel.

"I'm not exactly a fighter, but we needed players to participate!" quipped Sofiel as she sent several book-shaped lights at Kuroka. They missed, but began flapping their pages as if they were butterflies and flew back at the Nekoshou.

Kuroka made fingers guns and fired touki bullets from the tips of her finger. The butterflies were eliminated easily as she jumped around while doing this—in a sense, she wasn't taking this seriously and it left Sofiel a bit frustrated.

[Kuroka-sama, please take this a bit more seriously,] said Ravel through the transceiver. In the distance Ravel herself was fighting someone else too, she was facing Tamiel, [Team Lightning]'s [Bishop].

[Yes~ Ravel-sama-chan~] replied the cat as she giggled.

Numerous magic circles appeared around Ravel as Tamiel attacked her using magic as well as his light powers. Ravel didn't need to be careful of the light attacks, like many others their weaknesses were removed by Aaron, so she and many others were no longer weak to light or holy attacks.

"Hmm. Daughter of the Phenex, would you be willing to participate in some experiments in Grigori? Being able to recreate the immortality of the Phenex clan would be exhilarating, don't you think? …Is what my colleagues would want me to say," said Tamiel as he continued his assault on Ravel.

"I will have to respectfully decline, Tamiel-sama. I don't think my parents would want our clan's powers to be replicated so casually," replied Ravel. She sent powerful flames to counter Tamiel's attack and neutralize them.

"It's unfortunate," replied Tamiel. "However…our plans should take into effect now."

Ravel—no, everyone felt a surge of power as they all looked up and saw a man in the sky with wings of flames. It was Atsutarou Himejima. He was doing the same move as earlier, but this time it was for a planned attack rather than trying to catch [Team Golden Rakshasa] off guard.

Three flame-lightning meteors flew in different directions and the rest of [Team Golden Rakshasa] watched them as they slammed at specific spots on the field.

[[Team Lightning] has destroyed three [objects]. They have gained three points.]

[Oh my goodness!! [Team Lightning] destroyed three objects making it 6 to 3, if they destroyed one more, they win! But—]

[Gahahaha! They really trapped her, huh?! [Imprisonment], I didn't think they'd aim to do that this far into the game, ahahaha!] bellowed Azazel before going into a fit of laughter.

[Imprisonment]. A tactic that can only be used if the [object] is movable. A team directs the enemy's [King] to the corner of the field. They then transport the [objects] at specific parts then destroy them. This will lock the [King] in place. In order for the [King] to escape, they need to use the special movement 'Castling' with a [Rook] to escape.

Raynare had purposely been fighting Aurelia to force her to a corner of the map. [Team Lightning] then transported the [objects] they found around Aurelia and Raynare before destroying them, locking both the [King] of [Team Golden Rakshasa] and [Pawn] of [Team Lightning] there.

"Khhh…! I had taken this into consideration, so it's nothing to worry about…" muttered Ravel as she looked at Tamiel. [Please proceed with the next plan—let's end this.]

"Roger nya!" Kuroka shouted in the distance. She disappeared from her spot, and slammed her elbow into Sofiel's stomach sending the girl away. But a large pillar of flames erupted in the distance with several trees and rocks circling around it.

[2 [Pawns] of [Team Golden Rakshasa] have retired!]

'Bova-sama and Ouryuu-sama lost to Atsutarou-sama…it's within my range of expectations…' thought Ravel.

[2 [Knights] of [Team Golden Rakshasa] have retired!]

'Even Yoru-sama and Haru-sama lost to Ezeri-sama…we're entering the final parts of the game—we have to do that plan now…!' she thought and sent a ball of flames up into the sky which then exploded into the shape of a bird.

[[Team Golden Rakshasa] just lost four of their members! What a devastating blow! It seems player Ezeri and player Atsutarou Himejima have won their battles! [Team Lightning] is also in the lead, victory is just inches away!]

[Rossweisse-sama, Aurelia-sama, please go ahead!] Ravel ordered.

— ○ ● ○ —

"Fufu, so your plan was to imprison me all along? However, I still have Akaza and Kuroka to use 'Castling' with. Did you not take that into account?" asked Aurelia as she dodged hundreds of light attacks aimed at her.

"We just need to destroy one more [object] and we win!" shouted Raynare. "We'll wiiiiiiin!!"

"Naïve," muttered Aurelia. She then heard Ravel's voice telling her to go ahead with their earlier plan. Aurelia powered up to her new maximum power and Raynare felt a chill as she involuntarily stepped back.

An even larger and more powerful golden aura emanated from her body. The barriers around them, the barriers that appeared after those areas were destroyed, threatened to break as Aurelia continued to increase her power. She raised her greatsword high up to the sky and stared at Raynare.

"My team is known for using both tactics and raw power. We wanted to experiment in this game—to us more tactics regardless of what the game was, but alas, in the end we just rely on our raw power, fuhaha!" she shouted.

From Aurelia's greatsword shot out a pillar of yellow light into the sky—signaling she was about to tear through everything.

[Is everything ready?!] asked Ravel.

[Yes!] the ones left shouted back.

[Aurelia-sama!]

"Hmph. This is the end," said Aurelia before she swung her sword down unleashing an almighty slash that tore through the rest of the field.

Raynare flew in front of it as she tried to stop or slow it down. She used everything in her, but the difference in strength was too much.

"Not…yeeeeeeeeeet!!" she shouted as her own body was slammed again the barrier, said barrier was then destroyed as she kept going and tore through the rest of the field. But—

[[Team Golden Rakshasa] has destroyed four [objects]. They have gained four points.]

[2 [Pawns] of [Team Lightning] have retired!]

[2 [Bishop] of [Team Lightning] have retired!]

[1 [Queen] of [Team Golden Rakshasa] has retired!]

[1 [Rook] of [Team Golden Rakshasa] has retired!]

[1 [King] of [Team Lightning] has retired!]

[[Team Golden Rakshasa] has gained 7 points as well as…retired the [King] of [Team Lightning]! Player Aurelia completely annihilated the game's field! However, she also took out her own teammates!] the announcer said in shock.

[What a suicidal plan, jeez, these guys are either meticulous about their tactics or just flat out stupid…but it worked in the end,] added Azazel.

[The winner of the game, is [Team Golden Rakshasa]!]

How did such events come to be? It was quite simple. When Rossweisse finished her technique in locating the rest of the [objects], the rest of the plan was to keep everyone else preoccupied, as well as add barriers to protect the remaining [objects].

Edel, who used her own technique in creating wood clones of herself silently ran around the field to grab the [objects] and put them at a singular point and covered them in a lot of shrubbery, trees, roots, and vines. She had perfectly recreated the 'forest' at that specific part, hence why [Team Lightning] didn't find them.

Once Ravel gave the orders, Kuroka, Rossweisse and Edel's wooden clones grabbed the remaining [objects] and put them in the line of fire of Aurelia's attack that would wipe out everything in front of her. They needed to be quick about it, so escape for the [Rook] and [Queen] of [Team Golden Rakshasa] was near impossible.

They knew they would be eliminated by their own [King] and accepted it, but at the same time, they would win. Raynare, who had no idea of all this, tried to stop Aurelia's massive attack, but it was futile.

The rest of [Team Golden Rakshasa] and [Team Lightning] were protected by the [Electa] and their barriers, meaning no one else was eliminated, but the [objects] that were in Aurelia's way were obliterated.

To everyone that watched the match, they were reminded again that the subordinates of Aaron were on a different level and they could do things like what Aurelia did, but didn't since the tournament would be completely one-sided. But it also left them questioning…how would any other team beat them?

'—Simple and petty tactics are useless in the face of true power. We shall burn that into everyone's minds for as long as we remain in this tournament. We'll remind everyone who Aurelia-sama is, as well as us—we were trained by the Dual Dragon Emperor who wiped out the Omniverse. There are few who can do what I have planned for Aurelia-sama after all.'

When everyone in [Team Golden Rakshasa] heard that for the first time, they were shocked, not including the [Electa] who were amused by it. But Aurelia left those tactics to Ravel as she wanted the younger girl to grow into a strategist for Team [DxD] in the future.

— ○ ● ○ —

In another stadium in the Underworld, another spectacle had just occurred.

[Oh…my…goodness! The match was as one-sided as it could be! [Team Phantastic Dragons] completely destroyed [Team Arataki Itto]!]

[Hmm. The team led by Hirokazu-san is quite well rounded, but most of their power relies heavily on the [King], [Queen], [Bishop] and both [Pawns]. However, their teamwork is also impeccable,] said the other commentator.

[[Team Arataki Itto] tried their best, but they stood no chance! However, they also showed exemplary prowess during it! Their team isn't easy to push around!] added the other commentator.

[Yes. If it were a middle-range or inexperienced team, [Team Arataki Itto] would have won quite easily, but with more powerful teams like [Team Phantastic Dragons]…they won't stand a chance. I do look forward to their future endeavors.]

The type of Rating Game played by both teams was the [Lightning Fast Game].

A short variant of the standard Rating Game. In the rules of the Rating Game, it utilizes the shortest time limit and narrowest playing field. In simpler terms, it is a quick match (a blitz). Within the one-hour time limit, whoever defeats their opponent's [King] wins. In the case that neither player can defeat the enemy king, a winning team is decided by the number of points calculated by the number of pieces each side has claimed from the other.

All of [Team Phantastic Dragons] were on the field while everyone in [Team Arataki Itto] was defeated quite quickly. The [King], [Queen] and both Sacred Gear wielders were the only ones remaining at the end.

Yet, they stood no chance. Hirokazu Miller had evolved his [Twice Critical] to a point that it could be classified as its own unique Sacred Gear, perhaps even part of the [New Longinus] line-up. However, he would need to check with Aaron to confirm that detail.

[Who would have expected a new Sacred Gear to appear though. Hirokazu Miller-san said he was a subordinate of Jin Skyward-sama. Anyone that's his subordinate is usually blessed with new strength and grows at very odd speeds.]

[Indeed. He is also the prime suspect in the cause of the increase in Sacred Gears being discovered as well as increasing the 'Balance Breaker' phenomenon in this era. It's quite exciting and frightening at the same time.]

— ○ ● ○ —

In the room where [Team Arataki Itto] were in, it was quiet. All members were slumped down as they accepted their humiliating defeat. Their team had come into this match with the expectations of putting on a good show—but reality was different as they were near-instantaneously defeated.

"Boss…" Kuki Shinobu called out. She was unsure in how to handle the situation. In the past this wouldn't have bothered them, but after being 'sponsored' by Aaron, they had unknowingly put their own expectations onto themselves.

"…Why are you guys so down?" Itto asked as he got up. His teammates looked at him and waited for him to continue.

"Jin-san decided to help us. If we can't make the main stage then what's the point? We just have to keep on training, rest up and get stronger and then fight our next team! We can't stop here and feel sorry for ourselves! Today was a wake-up call and reminder that we're just small fish in a large ocean," he said and summoned a comb before combing his hair.

With his usual goofy grin he added, "Let's do our best to make the main stage, but if we can't—let's keep going and have no regrets. Jin-san already told us that he wouldn't take away what he did to our village."

"Heh…" Yuhara stood up and stood beside her [King]. "It's like what he said. Let's just do things at our pace and slowly climb up! Being sad and depressed isn't our style!"

The rest of their team began to speak too, the things they wanted to happen and—

"I want to eat a luxurious meal!" said Genta, which made the rest laugh. Rem and Ram who were lent to the team watched on with smiles as Itto's never ending positivity brought them out of their doubts and anxiety.

"They'll be fine then, right, Rem?" asked Ram.

"Yes, Nee-sama. Itto-san isn't the type to let such things bother him. Shuten-sama knows that all too well," replied Rem.

"That's good. Don't let defeats like this get to you," said a voice. Everyone in the room turned and saw Aaron standing there. "Yo. I'm an avatar, so I'm not the real Jin. I came to watch your match and meet up with you guys afterward."

"Ah…o-okay, but since that Hirokazu guy is your subordinate…you checked on him, right?" asked Itto.

"No, another avatar is over there speaking with them. Boss is in the other stadium and speaking with the other two teams that have just finished their match," replied Aaron A (Avatar). "Anyway, he gave me this to give to you guys."

Aaron A handed over a piece of paper and Itto…handed it over to Yuhara who read it instead. Itto could read, but he's not the smartest in the world, hence why he passed it over to someone smarter than him. It was out of habit. He assumed it contained difficult things to understand and didn't want to give himself a headache.

"So…what is it?" Itto asked Yuhara.

"That another avatar of his is in the village and will improve it more, as well as the rest of Zyoto if Shuten permits it," replied Yuhara before handing it back to Itto. He read through it and it was phrased in a way that was easy to understand even for Itto.

"Jin-san! No! Jin-sama! He's doing this for an idiot like me! At least tell him that I'll be his macho-awesome-friend that will help him when he needs it! I don't like working for someone, but that's fine, right?!" Itto said to Aaron A.

Itto's own pride didn't allow himself to work under someone, whether it was the pride of an Oni, or just himself, no one knew. But Aaron A laughed at Itto and nodded his head.

"Alright, I'll tell him that. But you guys should get going, otherwise they'll kick all of you out," he told them and gestured behind himself. Itto and his team looked past him and saw some people walking towards their room.

"Please teleport us back!" Itto asked and put his hands together. Aaron A sighed and agreed. Seconds later Itto and his team were teleported back to Zyoto.

"What about you, Shinobu?" asked Aaron A.

"I will go meet with Bo—Jin-san later," replied Shinobu. She bowed before leaving and the avatar dismissed himself.

— ○ ● ○ —

"I see, so you're just an avatar? Then where is Jin-san?" asked Hirokazu. He and Caeda had joined Aaron B outside and were speaking to him. The rest of his team were inside their room.

"He's at the other stadium talking to the other two teams. Anyway, your Sacred Gear seemed to have evolved into something unique, it shouldn't be called a [Twice Critical] anymore. What do you wish to call it?" asked Aaron B.

Hirokazu's face lit up and he excitedly said, "I want to call it—!"

After Aaron B heard the name, he nodded and they spoke a little more with each other before [Team Phantastic Dragons] left the stadium. Finally, he dismissed himself.

— ○ ● ○ —

Aaron Toole's Soliloquy

— ○ ● ○ —

The match between [Team Golden Rakshasa] and [Team Lightning] concluded in the most overtop way possible with Aurelia wiping out the last four [objects] and as well as many players including her own teammates.

But it was also Ravel's plan, so I'm not sure on whom to pin this on. That match was meant to be Issei vs Baraqiel and ended on a more emotional note and with Issei proposing to Akeno. But since I'm not part of the teams participating, I would have no influence on them…well on a physical level. However, I have told the teams that I personally know that are participating to aim for me, so that remains to be seen.

I also received information from both my avatars that were dismissed. Hirokazu's new Sacred Gear's name is interesting. I wonder if he got the bad naming sense from me? Well, as of now I can't call it part of the [New Longinus], just like Babitar's Sacred Gear. It's missing…something.

Maybe he needs to achieve an Abyss-side or X-side Balance Breaker, but his current Crest-side subspecies isn't enough—it's solely copying my Scale Mail armor. If he can evolve it into something unique to himself, then…I'll speak to Azazel about adding it to it.

But for now—I arrived in the room where [Team Golden Rakshasa] was at, and found both Rose and Kuroka sitting on their beds. Bova and Ouryuu were already gone, they were quite frustrated with how they lost. I can't blame them though. Atsutarou became very strong with his upgrades.

Aurelia took Haru and Yoru for the reason of training them since even Ezeri gave them praise for 'exciting' him. However, he was angry with Aurelia for using such a violent attack on his lover, Sofiel.

"Hey, are you two okay?" I asked while approaching them.

"I'm fine nya~ I already expected to be blasted away by Aurelia nya~ but I'd like to be spoiled for a little bit nya~" she said and I sat beside her while letting her sit on my lap and rub herself on me—she really is like a cat.

I started petting her on the head and turned to Rose. "How about you? It looks like you have found the beginnings of your own [Ultra Instinct], Rose. Although dad did a good job in keeping up with you, albeit barely."

Baraqiel was hit nine times out of ten, but he would manage to dodge a single hit from Rose every now and again which surprised her too. She didn't want to obliterate him out of existence so she lowered her power and speed (slightly), but nothing else. Still, Baraqiel was beaten up quite badly. As to why she didn't end it in one blow…only Rose would know why.

"…Y-you…"

...You?

"You love me, right, Aaron…?" she asked timidly, confusing me.

"Of course, I do. Why do you ask?" I replied. I felt Kuroka poking my cheeks and forcing me to turn to face Rose—no, she was telling me to go to her. I got up and sat beside her. Kuroka turned into her cat form and fell asleep on the bed.

Rose told me what Baraqiel told her and I sighed. I know psychological warfare is effective, but holy shit, dad, don't you think that was a bit much? You've made her question this even past the match!

I tenderly karate chopped her head and said, "Dad was just saying that to rile you up, Rose. I obviously love you so—"

"Then why haven't you had sex with me yet? Or asked me to use my mouth—or any part of my body…!? I-I'm confident in my own body, I don't care if you have plans for your proposal for me, I can wait, but…I'm losing a bit of confidence if you don't desire my body, Aaron…" she said sounding quite sad.

I was left a bit speechless, I could make as many excuses as I want, but it's true I've been kind of avoiding it with her, so let's just—

"Rose." She looked at me when I called her name. "Let's go out in two days, just in Kuoh."

"U-um…"

"Truth be told, I want to have sex with everyone in my harem on a daily basis," I admitted, and her face turned completely red. "But I don't want to be known as some kind of horny dog, so that's why I hold myself back. Although I do have sex regularly enough, I'd like to do it more—daily, if possible."

"So…after tomorrow's date, let's have sex!" I declared. But Rose didn't answer me. "Rose?" I poked her on the cheek and she fell over on the bed… Didn't she ask me to fuck her?! Why did she faint?!

"…What in the world are you declaring to her, Aaron?"

I looked back at the door to see Rias with a hand over her forehead, and a few other people were blushing or giggling at what I said.

"My physical attraction and love to Rossweisse?" I replied which just caused her to sigh at me again. "What brings you guys here?"

She nodded and everyone else came into the room—it was just the Gremory peerage, plus…

"Yahoo Middleman-kun~ I'm Lint Sellzen, a member of [Team Rias Gremory]," said the young woman.

Lint was a young woman with a mix of black and white hair and with red eyes. She bore a striking resemblance to Freed as she looked like the female equivalent of him. She wore a yellow hoodie and short blue shorts with red-white sneakers.

"…You came from the same institution as Freed, right? Well, anyway, I'm Jin, or call me Aaron, whatever you wanna pick," I replied and shook her hand.

"A firm handshake, a nice body~ and an attractive face!" Lint then gave me a thumbs up and looked at Rias. "I like him, Leader!"

"I-is that so? That's good then," replied Rias a bit awkwardly. She then summoned a magic circle beside me. "The next few matches have already been announced. They're happening in ten days."

[Breaking News! These are the most anticipated matches in ten days' time!]

[Team Phantastic Dragons] vs [Team Trump Card of Heaven]

[Team Imperial Purpure] vs [Team Spear of the Draconic Emperor]

[Team Golden Rakshasa] vs [Team Sona Sitri]

"That's certainly a line-up, let me guess. Saji requested to fight Aurelia, right?" I asked Rias and she nodded.

"He along with Sona and Tsubaki showed up as Aurelia's team left their room and asked them to have a match. Apparently, it was because Saji wanted to fight one of his teachers," explained Rias.

Saji asked Aurelia for a fight, huh? Student versus teacher…I wonder if he's looking for her approval or something?

"That's a lot of matches to look forward to in the future. How about your team?" I asked.

"We've been asked to fight against another team, and we accepted, but they're nothing too noteworthy, so the spotlight isn't on us this time around," she replied and sighed. "Although Onii-sama said he'd come to it."

Please accept my condolences, Rias, for the troubles of a doting older brother.

"Anyway, we came here to show you that. Your mother and everyone else in waiting at the lobby, but…" she stared at me and I nodded.

"Yeah. I know," I replied. She nodded and left with her team, Akeno making a lewd gesture to me as they left. If she heard it, she would definitely do that…

When I looked back at Rose, she had woken up and looked both embarrassed and serious. "We'll go on that date soon, and when we do, expect things to advance. I can only apologize for our slow relationship, Rose."

"…N-no, it's fine…! I-I look forward to it!" replied the embarrassed Valkyrie.

"Nyuhuhuhu~ don't worry, Rose-chin, I'll go talk to the girls and we'll take you out shopping in Tokyo. We'll get you some sexy lingerie~" said Kuroka who also woke up. She was back in her human form.

"I'll be in your care!" she responded vigorously. I expected her to be embarrassed about that, but I guess she's excited about their outing…

The two of them left the room and I was by myself. There was still one person I needed to talk to, so I made my way to them. I teleported just outside of [Team Lightning]'s room and felt one last person in there. Not wanting to alert them, I entered the room and found Raynare there.

She was sitting on her bed, staring at the covers, unmoving and unblinking. I made my way over to her and sat beside her. We stayed like that for around two minutes until her hand began to move around under her covers and I held it.

"…I wanted to win," she muttered and gripped my hand tighter. "From the start, everyone already saw Aurelia-san's team winning. It was obvious, she was already quite famous herself for obliterating 666 during the war."

"But…as the match went on, we were ahead by points and also eliminated four members of her team. Even Atsutarou-san went above and beyond my own expectations…yet…" tears fell from her eyes as she her mouth quivered. "We lost. I couldn't do anything to her—I felt angry and frustrated at myself."

"I could help but think 'Ah, so this is the difference in power between us'. Even after becoming stronger, so strong that if I had thought about this a year ago…I would have thought I was crazy—yet, Aurelia-san was even stronger. She even held back when fighting me too…"

"I wanted to win with everyone because we trained really hard and wanted to cause an upset…is that a bad way of thinking?" she asked.

I turned to fully face her and embraced her. I brought her head to my chest and said, "You all did well. Both teams, and I saw you fighting with everything on the line, Raynare—not just for yourself, but for your team too. Compared to how you were a year ago, I'd say it's a huge improvement. So hold your head up high—your journey in the tournament doesn't end here yet."

Raynare nodded into my chest and continued to cry while repeatedly saying 'I'll beat them' or 'I'll make the main stage'.

— ○ ● ○ —

A few minutes later she was done crying and we went to join everyone else in the lobby who waited for us.

"Oh? She's done crying then, fufu, let's get to training more then," said Áine who had come here to watch the match.

Raynare had turned red in the face and asked, "W-what do you mean train? You're not part of the team, Áine…"

"I can still encourage one of my friends, right? So let's go!" she shouted and dragged Raynare away, Asia who teleported back, also joined the two since she wanted to cheer up Raynare who felt a bit down.

Baraqiel was also there along with Atsutarou, so I walked over to them.

"Good job in your role and control of your Artificial Sacred Gear, Atsutarou. Also, how are your injuries, dad? Do you regret poking Rose like that?" I asked them both.

"I managed to beat the next heir of the Nakiri clan and the son of a former Dragon King, I'm feeling pretty good right now. I can keep getting stronger, so I'll keep on training in Grigori starting today," replied Atsutarou as he flexed his arms.

"…I don't regret it, but it was a learning experience. Your slime pills that were prepared for all of us did a lot in healing me, thank you…but I won't repeat that ever again," replied Baraqiel. Rossweisse who was also nearby, blushed and apologized to Baraqiel who told her it wasn't a big deal.

We spoke a little more before we teleported back home. Everyone seemingly in higher spirits before the match started.

— ○ ● ○ —

Later on that night, I had locked up the restaurant and was going home. It wasn't a cold night, surprisingly enough, and as I approached my home, I saw a figure waiting for me. Looking closer, it was…Lilith, it was strange to see her stepping out on her own, she was usually in my home or in the Underworld being harassed by the boomer devils.

"Lilith? Why are you out here so late?" I asked. She gestured for me to follow her and I did so while catching up with her. "So, are you going to answer my question?"

"It's a beautiful night tonight. Will you accompany me?" she asked. Unsure of her intentions, I agreed and followed her. Funnily enough we ended up at the park where we made contact at with her bat.

"This particular park, huh?" I said and looked up at the moon…maybe I should make a base there too—perhaps even make it a tourism spot? Space or moon visits when I grow my business, I'll also do this for other planets…it doesn't sound bad.

"Hey Lil," I called out to the Mother of Devils. She seemed amused by my nickname and looked at me. "What do you think of this?" I asked and pulled out the [Linaidite].

She tilted her head and looked closer at it. "It radiates a strange glow and power. Where did you find it? I believe you didn't move from your seat during the entire Rating Game—unless you used your shadow soldiers or avatars," she said.

I told her how I got it and what its purpose was, and that it's still in its raw state.

"Then why not replicate it, then refine this one and send it back to Kei and Yanuyo? After that, why not experiment with it to see if you could make it into something else entirely?" suggested Lilith.

"I've done that already, actually—this is a replica. I've refined the original already," I told her and summoned it back. The original rock was smooth all around, and it glowed even brighter than the replica. "It has the power of 100 billion suns, and can power our world alone for a very long time. It can only power the Etoulde's main base for around five thousand years though."

"That goes to show the difference between their planet and ours. Can't you just…will it to be stronger?" she asked.

I nodded. "I can, but I wanted to just work with this alone without adding anything else if you know what I mean." She shook her head, so I explained further. "I looked into how it was refined in the Evie Etoulde's world, and replicated it but at its most…I guess potent or highest rate. I guess in simpler terms—if I used the highest quality items in a game and refined this rock, it would turn out to be [Legendary Quality] with a 100% durability and would only decrease 1% at a time every 100 years?"

"…Games, I see. Will you send that back then?" she asked and I nodded again. I lightly tossed it up and it disappeared. I then informed Kei about it. "What about the replica then? Will you influence it in different ways?"

Looking back at the moon, I smirked. "You know about my other plans, right?"

She nodded.

"When you made me come to this park, I thought about making a tourist attraction place on the moon, or even just a city for people to live in. I would then use this, a different refined [Linaidite] to power it. As for air and other essentials like that…I'll use the replicas to make them since I'm utilizing them in different ways."

A [Linaidite] that can produce air, water, earth and other essentials. I'd essentially turn the moon into another earth—after that, I'll go to Mars and do the same thing—do the same thing to the other planets in this universe…

Create spaceships that's powered by this too and then maybe, I'll introduce the supernatural to the humans. Because of the war the governments of the world became aware of us. Not all of them were aware before that, but now they are. Because of the previously affiliated people who decided to tell them out of fear or whatnot, they've started investigating us—especially the power factions.

…I'll lead this world to a new age. I already made those pills I told the girls, pills that would increase lifespan and I would sell to the humans once my company grows. But for now…

"You are making that face. I see, so that's what they meant. It looks strange," said Lilith. I was pulled out of my thoughts when she poked my nose. "With that said, aren't a few notable names going to your restaurant tomorrow?"

"Yeah. Some Pantheon leaders and faction leaders are coming, so I decided to reserve that time for them, so it'll close pretty early," I replied.

"Fufu, the Ryukororeacht Restaurant or R&R will be full of life then…I will come back too, Aaron."

"If you wish, no one is stopping you."

Tomorrow, my restaurant will be lively as hell, but after that—another date with Rose and finally going to another base with her…

After that—Hirokazu versus Dulio, I'm excited to see how it plays out.

— ○ ● ○ —